Clarity Wellness

Yes, I’m in the business of building meal plans for people who want to improve their health and (usually) lose weight. Most people, however, use my meal plans as “training wheels” to ultimately build their own meal plans, and that's the way it should be. Building a healthy meal plan doesn't have to be complicated.  In fact, the easier the better, IMHO. Here are the basic tenants that will start you on the road to better health almost immediately! 1.  Eat   two or three full meals a day . Build nutrient-dense, satiating meals, so you won't feel the need to snack later. If you find yourself getting "snacky" between meals, add a little more protein to your meals, drink plenty of water, and take a look at whether or not you're really hungry. You might just be bored, upset, or in the habit of eating at that time.   2.  Start with a savory,  protein-packed breakfast (whenever that is) .  Save your carbs for later in the day. Eggs, Greek yogurt, a prote...

Who doesn't love to eat? We look forward to holidays when we know our favorite foods will be served.  We love to eat out and try new things we don't usually cook ourselves.  Some of us even like to bake for fun on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Unfortunately, though, that can catch up to us when we eat too much or eat things that aren't especially nutrient dense.   I am totally guilty of this.  I have a terrible habit of trying things off my kids' plates just because I just like to try new tastes.  I love to go beer and wine tasting with friends and family.  I love to bake, and even though the things I usually make these days are technically healthier options, they often lead to overeating.  Five grain-free/sugar-free blueberry muffins are still too much. I would love it if there were an easy answer to this problem.  We humans are programmed to look for pleasure, and eating provides a lot of pleasure.  Here are a few things that have wor...

I know you already know that you can save money on food if you cook at home more often and plan your meals so you don't throw so much out. Right? Then why don't we do that? Time? Energy? What to make? The key is in the prep work. Here’s how to do it so you can hold onto that hard-earned cash and reduce your food waste: 1. Look at what you already have. Shop your fridge and pantry before planning your meals for the week. That way you won’t end up throwing things out that go bad before you can use them, and you won’t buy things that you didn’t realize you already had. Make sure you have a few basic staples on hand to use in an emergency—frozen produce, cans of tuna or salmon, eggs, etc. 2. Check out the grocery ads and download your coupons before you go shopping. If something is on sale, now may be a good time to stock up on things you use often, like meat or in-season produce that you can freeze. 3. Decide on a meal plan. Look at your schedule for the week, taking into acco...

Habits make our lives easier. They make things automatic and free us from the decision fatigue that hits us near the end of the day. However, you probably already know how hard it is to create a new habit. The old ones are so deeply ingrained. It should be simple—there really are only 3 steps involved. Trigger, behavior, reward. With some things it really is that easy. Walk into the bathroom, brush your teeth, enjoy the reward of fresh minty breath. Unfortunately, other habits are not so easy to implement. Habits around food can be the hardest! That’s where we bring in the big guns: habit stacking. Throw every trick you’ve got at it. There are lots of things you can do, but here are some of the most powerful tools I have found for creating better habits around food: 1. Put it in front of your face. If you want to drink more water, fill your water bottle and take it with you everywhere. If you want to eat according to a plan, print it out and post it on your fridge....

I really could care less who wins the Super Bowl.  I've never been much of a football fan, but I do love a good Super Bowl party.  I'm totally in it for the company, the food, the commercials, and the halftime show. I only wish it was Super Bowl Saturday instead of Sunday.  Or make Super Bowl Monday a national holiday.  But I digress... For many, the Super Bowl party marks the beginning of the end of a great streak of healthy eating .  You make it all the way through January eating clean, exercising, and maybe even abstaining from alcohol.  Then along comes the Super Bowl and wham!  All those yummy treats start you on a slide that continues through heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, Mardi Gras beignets, and Spring Break beach drinks.  It's the holiday season 2.0.   So what do you do? First and foremost, make a plan .  Don't let it take you by surprise.  Make sure that plan is reasonable and doable.  Recognize the p...

  In case you haven't seen my latest post, I recently had skin cancer surgery, and ended up popping a few stitches.  Now I have a hole on the top of my head that is healing very slowly.  It's been over a month now, and I'm still a long way from being healed.  My next stop is a wound care clinic, and then I'm on to a plastic surgeon.   Looking in the mirror in the mornings and trying to do something with my hair while hiding the mess under a headband is the hardest, and honestly, for a few weeks there, I had a really tough time dealing with it.   I'm tired of playing the victim role, though.  I know what I need to do to heal myself, and the answer doesn't lie at the bottom of a box of cookies.  Not that I had gone overboard with the junk food, but I did let things slip a little.   In my nutrition coaching business I give my clients a meal plan to follow each week, and those that do see the greatest results.  So...why was I ...

I am a fan of the sun.   I love its ability to warm me when I'm cold, to trigger vitamin D production in my skin, and to boost my mood.  As a kid growing up in Iowa, I spent long afternoons mowing lawns, hiking around the nearby woods, and lying in the backyard trying to get the perfect tan.  Most of this did not involve sunscreen. Ok, maybe some baby oil or Coppertone SPF4, but nothing really protective.   As an adult, I have always enjoyed a little bit of a tan, but I've been more careful.  I limit my time in the direct sun and wear a hat every time I go out for a long hike or run.  Sunscreen is part of my daily routine. Unfortunately, it all caught up to me this year.  I go to the dermatologist every year, and every year she burns off a spot or two that she refers to as my "barnacles," otherwise known as actinic keratoses. This year, however, she decided to take a couple of biopsies.  They were basal cell carcinomas, requiring Mohs sk...

We’ve already talked about the three questions to ask yourself when you’re eating .   Those were all about the mindfulness  side of eating.  Here are three ways to make sure you’re regulating your blood sugar and nourishing your body--in other words, the physiological side of what goes in your mouth.   Both are incredibly important, and often overlap.   Do these things and your inflammation levels will go down, your cravings will subside, your hormone levels will regulate, and you might even lose weight! Number one: Control your carbs. Carbohydrates are the one macronutrient that we really don’t need.   If we don’t ingest glucose, our bodies will make it.   If we don’t have enough glucose in our bloodstreams, our bodies will learn to run on ketones made from fatty acids.   That said, there are a lot of good things about vegetables and fruits that we can’t deny—they provide fiber and vitamins, and help our bodies detox.   Just try to ...

Are you ready?  Here are the questions to ask yourself every time you head to the kitchen or sit down to a meal: Am I really hungry? Have I had enough? What's my plan? That's all there is to it.  Those three questions will change your relationship with food, your health, and maybe even your weight. Am I really hungry? It all comes down to listening to your body and recognizing when you're eating out of some other need that has nothing to do with physical hunger.  The problem is that many of us have lost touch with our hunger and substitute it for something else.  That's where awareness comes in: taking the moment to notice, breathe, and create some space between the urge to eat and the action of eating.   You may be hungry for human connection.  You may be hungry for self-actualization (yes—I know that’s a big one.  I’ll let you and your journal or therapist work on that!)  You may be tired, thirsty, or honestly, just bored....

You may have heard a a lot about intermittent fasting lately. It sounds a little scary and it goes against a lot of the nutrition advice we've been told all our lives: breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you need to eat 5-6 small meals a day to stoke your metabolism, if you don't eat you will slow down your metabolism, and on and on. I'm here to dispel the myths, and help you get started on a habit that might help you get your blood sugar under control, regenerate your worn out cells, improve your relationship with food, and maybe even lose a little weight in the process. First myth: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Ok, so yes, eating is important. Our bodies need nutrients and energy, but those nutrients don't necessarily need to be ingested first thing in the morning. If you're not hungry when you first wake up, then don't eat. Whenever you "break your fast" can be considered breakfast. Push your first meal of the ...